Basketball: Injury-hit Chester look to Tresvant

The Chester Jets coach, Mike Burton, may look to American John Tresvant to bolster his injury-hit squad for Sunday's decisive league trophy qualifying group game against one of his former clubs, Leicester City Riders.

Tresvant, a 6ft 6in 33-year-old forward, won a Budweiser League championship medal last season with Greater London Leopards, but they released him last week when signing Ryan Cuff from Worthing Bears.

Chester left three of their five Americans out of last weekend's trophy defeat against Manchester Giants, which jeo- pardised their qualification for the quarter-finals. Sean Bell dislocated his knee 48 hours earlier against Birmingham Bullets, Brian Lloyd has an ankle injury and Ricardo Leonard faces the prospect of knee surgery.

Bullets also have an injury crisis. Tony Dorsey (bruised retina), and Nigel Lloyd (hand injury), missed Wednesday's 63-55 National Cup semi- final first leg defeat at Thames Valley Tigers and could also be out of action for next Wednesday's return. Tigers' American Casey Arena also missed the first leg with injury.

Worthing have completed the registration of the American, Joel Burns, who will play in the trophy against Leopards on Sunday. But they will have to wait at least another week to clear the registration of the Canadian Greg Francis.

In the United States, with some NBA players calling for a boycott of the All-Star game or World Championships in response to the suspension of Latrell Sprewell, there was the prospect of a compromise.

Sprewell was sacked by Golden State Warriors and banned for a year by the NBA for attacking his coach - the longest suspension in NBA history.

Billy Hunter, director of the players' union, said Golden State officials had notified him that "some sort of olive branch might be extended, or the door might be left ajar somewhat to give us the opportunity to work something out."